California leads the way going into 2015, with more than $500 million in completed residential projects. The majority of that money came through the Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) program.

PACE programs allow investments in water- and energy-efficiency retrofits and distributed renewable generation to be paid back through property taxes, which lowers the risk for both lenders and owners and can potentially open up a far larger swath of the energy-efficiency market.

Already a leader, the HERO program has expanded substantially in California in the last few months. In December, the HERO program was approved by the city of San Francisco, making it the first large city in California to return to residential PACE financing since it was halted a few years back because of conflicts with federal housing regulators.

Not to be outdone by its neighbors to the north, Los Angeles County voted to adopt HERO PACE programs for the 85 cities that make up the county, including Los Angeles.

“It’s good to see the LA County Board of Supervisors helping to conserve energy by approving the Residential PACE program that will help Angelenos conserve water, use less electricity, and harness renewable energy at home,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. Some of HERO’s most popular products in California include water-saving technologies, solar panels, HVAC upgrades, energy-efficient windows and doors and roofing and insulation.